WHO probe team visits Wuhan lab
WUHAN: World Health Organization (WHO) investigators on Wednesday visited a research centre in the Chinese city of Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus, with one member saying they’d intended to meet key staff and press them on critical issues.
The WHO team’s visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology was a highlight of their mission to gather data and search for clues as to where the virus originated and how it spread. “We’re looking forward to meeting with all the key people here and asking all the important questions that need to be asked,” zoologist and team member Peter Daszak said.
Their visit followed months of negotiations as China seeks to retain tight control over information about the outbreak and the probe into its origins.
BEIJING/LONDON: A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) visited China’s most advanced virus research lab in Wuhan on Wednesday as part of their probe into the origins of the Covid-19 virus, reports from the central Chinese city said.
Scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) research on some of the deadliest pathogens found in the world, including the bat-hosted coronavirus.
One theory – so far unproven – says that the initial outbreak in Wuhan may have been triggered by an accidental virus leak from the bio-safety lab.
Questions also remain about a possible spillover event where the virus could have jumped from an animal host to humans. “I am looking forward to a very productive day, meeting the key people here and asking all the important questions that need to be asked,” team member Peter Daszak, who is the president of the EcoHealth Alliance, said from his car as it drove into the institute, a Reuters report said.
Peter Ben Embarek, a scientist leading the WHO team, told the tabloid Global Times that the international experts will meet Shi Zhengli, a leading Chinese virologist. Shi has been dubbed as China’s “bat woman” because of her intensive research on bats and the viruses they host.
Single dose of Oxford jab good for 12 weeks: Study
Britain’s health chief said on Wednesday that a new study suggesting that a single dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks supports the government’s strategy of delaying the second shot so more people can quickly be protected by the first dose.
Britain’s decision has been criticised as risky by other European countries, but health secretary Matt Hancock said the study “backs the strategy that we’ve taken and it shows the world that the Oxford vaccine works effectively”. Hancock’s comments came after Oxford University released a study showing the vaccine cut the transmission of the virus by two-thirds and prevented severe disease. The study has not been peer-reviewed yet and does not address the efficacy of the other vaccine currently in use in the UK, made by Pfizer.